A well rounded dinner, kind of.

A few nights ago, Alex and I decided we wanted breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches for dinner. I headed off to the grocery in search of a week's worth of meal planned groceries and some yummy tenderloins. I looked in the meat case and when I could fine none there, I headed to the frozen food section.

Our grocery had one type of frozen pork tenderloin, Pete's Pride. And while those are yummy pork fritters made in my hometown (not where I live now), they are a little lacking in the porky wholesome goodness we were hoping for. So I called Alex, who was out and about, and asked if he could swing by the little butcher shop where our friends had recently purchased these perfect, giant breaded tenderloins.

When he got home and I opened the package to start dinner, I was shocked by the naked, almost ground looking piece of meat that stared back up at me. I guess, a tenderloin for sandwiches starts as a pork chop and is run through a cubing machine, which kind of grates the top and flattens the piece of meat.

I quickly grabbed my Better Homes and Garden basic cookbook, which is my go to for all basic cooking needs, and read how to make homemade tenderloins. I finally got to use my new meat tenderizer and mallet. I made a flat patty, cut one tenderloin into four sandwich-sized pieces, floured, egg-washed, and breaded each patty, and pan-fried them in a little vegetable oil. I served them with crinkle cut french fries, green beans. Alex ate two.

The lessons I learned from this pork tenderloin experience are:

• The flatter the better. I should have kept pounding the patties. They were a little thick for pork fritters and they shrunk up when I cooked them, so they were not bigger than bun sized, which is what I prefer.
• Sometimes it's better to double your breading, even if it leads to more waste. By the last tenderloin, the egg-wash was practically gone, and I had to add more breadcrumbs. I should have just doubled it to start.
• Ask your butcher questions. If you don't see something you want, ask about it. Maybe your cut of meat just needs to be put through another machine.

I still have a whole tenderloin food saved and in the freezer, so I'll definitely be trying this one again!